I wrote a template for those of you who wish to email the link to people you know. I'm open to feedback:

Many of you have heard of the religion varyingly known as Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, FSMism, and Pastafarianism. You may also know that Pastafarianism has been a bit of a controversial subject in the USA and around the world. What you may not know is that there are countries that now officially recognize Pastafarianism as a real religion, including Poland, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Unfortunately, there are countries -- including the United States of America -- where Patafarianism is struggling to be recognized.

As a practicing Pastafarian, this is a very important topic to me. A right granted to us by the U.S. constitution is the ability to freely choose what religion we practice without being told by other's "that's not a real religion!" However, this right does not seem to apply equally to every person of every faith; engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgear in your driver's license photo are just two examples of rights you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion isn't real. This just isn't okay because it allows any state to discriminate against people simply because of their religion! If religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Scientology, and many others are recognized by our government and allowed to do things like marry people, wear religious headgear, and apply for tax exemptions for certain activities such as charitable works and setting up places of worship, why shouldn't Pastafarianism be granted those same rights within the U.S. government?

We aren't asking for miracles, all we want is to be recognized by the government and treated equally to all other religions!

It is time we add the United States of America to the list of countries where Pastafarianism is officially recognized! Please help us gain equal right to practice our faith without being discriminated against by bureaucracy! Sign the petition below!

P.S. When forwarding this message, please remember to censor the email addresses and last names of the people you received this from and use the BCC field to add addresses to send this to (place yourself in the TO field). While this isn't strictly necessary, it is the polite thing to do for those who are concerned about their own privacy.

Captain Itchy Pirate

He who laughs, lasts.

"You can't argue with all the fools in the world. It is better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not looking."--Brom, character in Eragon by Christopher Paolini

ItchyPirate wrote:I wrote a template for those of you who wish to email the link to people you know. I'm open to feedback:

Many of you have heard of the religion varyingly known as Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, FSMism, and Pastafarianism. You may also know that Pastafarianism has been a bit of a controversial subject in the USA and around the world. What you may not know is that there are countries that now officially recognize Pastafarianism as a real religion, including Poland, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Unfortunately, there are countries -- including the United States of America -- where Patafarianism is struggling to be recognized.

As a practicing Pastafarian, this is a very important topic to me. A right granted to us by the U.S. constitution is the ability to freely choose what religion we practice without being told by other's "that's not a real religion!" However, this right does not seem to apply equally to every person of every faith; engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgearyour driver's license photo are just two examples of rights you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion is'nt real. This just isn't okay because it allows any state to discriminate against people simply because of their religion! If religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Scientology, and many others are recognized by our government and allowed to do things like mary people, wear religious headgear, and apply for tax exemptions for certain activities such as charitable works and setting up places of worship, why shouldn't Pastafarianism be granted those same rights within the U.S. government?

We aren't asking for miracles, all we want is to be recognized by the government and treated equally to all other religions!

It is time we add the United States of America to the list of countries where Pastafarianism is officially recognized! Please help us gain equal right to practice our faith without being discriminated against by bureaucracy! Sign the petition below!

P.S. When forwarding this message, please remember to censor the email addresses and last names of the people you received this from and use the BCC field to add addresses to send this to (place yourself in the TO field). While this isn't strictly necessary, it is the polite thing to do for those who are concerned about their own privacy.

I can't find the Edit button so I'll just point out my spelling errors here. They are all in the second paragraph and have emphasis added in the points below to help you find them easier.

...engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgearyour driver's license photo...

...engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgear in your driver's license photo...

...you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion is'nt real.

...you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion isn't real.

...and allowed to do things like mary people, ...

...and allowed to do things like marry people, ...

Sorry about that, I normally don't proofread my forum posts but considering this is such an important topic to us pastafarians...

Captain Itchy Pirate

He who laughs, lasts.

"You can't argue with all the fools in the world. It is better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not looking."--Brom, character in Eragon by Christopher Paolini

ItchyPirate wrote:I can't find the Edit button so I'll just point out my spelling errors here. They are all in the second paragraph and have emphasis added in the points below to help you find them easier.

...engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgearyour driver's license photo...

...engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgear in your driver's license photo...

...you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion is'nt real.

...you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion isn't real.

...and allowed to do things like mary people, ...

...and allowed to do things like marry people, ...

Sorry about that, I normally don't proofread my forum posts but considering this is such an important topic to us pastafarians...

Consider it fixed.

Nice work, albeit proof-reading is your friend...

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical and cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." Bill Hicks."One should not believe everything one reads on the internet." Abraham Lincoln"Are you OK?" daftbeaker (<-- very good question, people should ask it more often.)

An updated version of the email template (minor grammar fixes, add Australia to the first paragraph, update link to the petition, add "we realize you may not accept our religion as yours" statement to paragraph just before the link)

Many of you have heard of the religion varyingly known as Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, FSMism, and Pastafarianism. You may also know that Pastafarianism has been a bit of a controversial subject in the USA and around the world. What you may not know is that there are countries that now officially recognize Pastafarianism as a real religion, including Poland, New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands. Unfortunately, there are countries -- including the United States of America -- where Patafarianism is struggling to be recognized.

As a practicing Pastafarian, this is a very important topic to me. A right granted to us by the U.S. constitution is the ability to freely choose what religion we practice without being told by others "that's not a real religion! you can't do that!" However, this right does not seem to apply equally to every person of every faith: engaging in your religion's version of matrimony and your right to wear religious headgear in your driver's license photo are just two examples of rights you may not have if the state you live in decides that your religion isn't real. This just isn't okay because it allows any state to discriminate against people simply because of their religion! If religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Scientology, and many others are recognized by our government and allowed to do things like marry people, wear religious headgear, and apply for tax exemptions for certain activities such as charitable works and setting up places of worship, why shouldn't Pastafarianism be granted those same rights within the U.S. government?

We aren't asking for miracles, all we want is to be recognized by the government and treated equally to all other religions!

It is time we add the United States of America to the list of countries where Pastafarianism is officially recognized! While we realize many of you won't accept our religion as yours, we hope that you'll be willing to help us gain the right to practice our faith without being discriminated against by bureaucracy! Sign the petition below!

P.S. When forwarding this message, please remember to censor the email addresses and last names of the people you received this from and use the BCC field to add addresses to send this to (place yourself in the TO field). While this isn't strictly necessary, it is the polite thing to do for those who are concerned about their own privacy.

Captain Itchy Pirate

He who laughs, lasts.

"You can't argue with all the fools in the world. It is better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not looking."--Brom, character in Eragon by Christopher Paolini